Celebrated birthday boy and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein knew everyone – presidents, prime ministers, financiers, businessmen, Nobel prize winners, Hollywood stars, and, of course, royalty. Not bad for someone who started out as a maths teacher from Coney Island. The trajectory from high school tutor to Wall Street financier with powerful connections could have been a classic American dream, rags-to-riches story – if it weren’t for the sinister side to it.
After dropping out of college twice, Epstein secured a teaching post at Manhattan’s prestigious Dalton School, where Rupert Murdoch’s daughter, Prudence, was a pupil. In a report for TheNew York Times, former students described Epstein as a charismatic young teacher who at times acted more like a friend than an authority figure. However, after Epstein’s behaviour toward some female students was considered creepy and inappropriate, he was asked to leave.
But he had already left an impression on some of the most influential parents at the school, one being Alan Greenberg, one of Wall Street’s most powerful investment bankers at the time. This connection would prove pivotal and set the course for Epstein’s eventual access to some of the most powerful people in the world.
Greenberg was the CEO of Bear Stearns and recommended Epstein for a role at the bank. As an options trader, Epstein rose quickly through the ranks, handling multimillion-dollar clients. Charming and comfortable taking risks, he developed a reputation for moving money internationally for clients’ complex needs. Soon, he became the toast of lower Manhattan, riding around in a chauffeur-driven limo with a beautiful woman on each arm.
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Jeffrey Epstein as a younger man, from the birthday card released by the House Oversight Committee(House Oversight Committee)
Real estate developer Donald Trump was also prominent on the scene at the time. In 1976, The New York Times described Trump: “He is tall, lean and blond, with dazzling white teeth, and he looks ever so much like Robert Redford. He rides around town in a chauffeured silver Cadillac with his initials, DJT [for Donald John Trump], on the plates. He dates slinky fashion models, belongs to the most elegant clubs, and, at only 30 years of age, estimates that he is worth ‘more than $200m’.” In a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein, Trump said: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
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No one really knows how Epstein made his immense fortune (at the time of his death in August 2019, he was estimated to be worth approximately $560m to $600m). When he set up his own firm in 1981, his pitch was unusual: he claimed to only take clients with at least $1bn in assets and to handle sensitive financial matters discreetly. He took on controversial clients, such as Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who had high-level political connections, including links to the CIA. Epstein often boasted of his own intelligence ties, claiming he had worked as an “agent” or provided “consulting” for powerful governments.
Epstein was also involved in laundering money and, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, worked for the Tower Financial Corporation, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. His boss, Steven Hoffenberg, was sentenced to 20 years, fined $1m, and ordered to pay back $463m. Mysteriously, Epstein was not indicted and walked away with millions. Was someone already protecting him?
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Peter Mandelson and unidentified people in a photograph included in Mandelson’s birthday message to the billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, alongside text reading ‘leaving you with some “interesting friends” to entertain instead’(House Oversight Committee)
Throughout these dealings, Epstein maintained one legitimate client: Leslie Wexner, founder and CEO of the company that owned lingerie empire Victoria’s Secret. They became close friends. In 1989, Wexner gave Epstein a townhouse on East 71st Street, which he had completely renovated. The following year, Epstein bought a house in West Palm Beach, near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump later claimed he fell out with Epstein when he “stole” young women who worked there, including Virginia Roberts (later Giuffre).
Mossad agent Ari Ben-Menashe, alleged “handler” of the late British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, said of Epstein: “Maxwell introduced him to us, and he wanted us to accept him as part of our group.” Ben-Menashe added that Epstein had met Ghislaine Maxwell through her father, and they began dating. There has been speculation that the young couple was then recruited by Israeli intelligence.
After Robert Maxwell died in 1991, Ghislaine moved to New York, where she had an on-off relationship with Epstein and helped him throw lavish dinner parties with guest lists reading like a who’s who of the rich and famous. While Epstein was socially shy, Ghislaine was crucial in introducing him to everyone who was anyone, including Prince Andrew. The three were seen at Ascot, and Epstein was invited to parties at Windsor Castle and Sandringham. In 2002, Prince Andrew gave Maxwell and actor Kevin Spacey a private tour of Buckingham Palace, where they sat on the coronation thrones.
It was also Ghislaine who put together a 238-page birthday book, which has now been subpoenaed by the US House Oversight Committee and revealed the reach of Epstein’s elite social circle and the depth of his friendships.
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Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein pose for a photo while on a date in 1991. The photo appears in the prologue to Epstein’s birthday book(House Oversight Committee)
Contributors included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and the UK ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson. Mandelson expressed “love” for Epstein in his submission, calling him his best “pal” and joking about entertaining his “interesting” friends – something he says he is deeply embarrassed about today. Trump’s contribution was a sketch of a woman’s naked body, inscribed: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
While the White House has denied that the alleged letter from Trump is authentic, other contributors included billionaire American financier Leon Black, who recast Epstein as Ernest Hemingway’s Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea – except instead of catching fish, he caught women. Epstein’s 22-year-old assistant thanked him for introducing her to Prince Andrew, adding that she had “seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace” and “sat on the Queen of England’s throne.” Les Wexner drew a pair of women’s breasts, saying: “I wanted to get you what you want.” Harvard professor Henry Rosovsky provided a “tit print”. One hand-coloured drawing showed a grinning Epstein giving three little girls balloons and a lollipop. Another depicted a nude Epstein being massaged by four topless young blondes, one with “JE” in a heart shape on her buttocks.
The scrapbook was prepared by Ghislaine Maxwell as a gift for Epstein’s 50th birthday, and many say they shouldn’t be seen as guilty by association, it is clear that Epstein’s insatiable sexual appetite was seen as something funny and to joke casually about. It is also the case that being accepted by such an elite group of powerful figures would have given Epstein an important sheen of respectability, making him feel untouchable and giving him access to untold resources when he needed them most.
When the Palm Beach police began investigating the sexual abuse of a minor in 2005, Epstein was defended by Ken Starr, a prominent American lawyer best known as the independent counsel who led the investigation resulting in the then president Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Starr negotiated Epstein’s highly favourable federal “sweetheart deal”, which saw Epstein serve only 18 months. Even after his conviction, Epstein remained entrenched in elite circles. After his 2009 release, he held a dinner at his New York mansion attended by Woody Allen and Prince Andrew.
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Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell, taken in 2001(US Department of Justice)
Many in his orbit claimed they knew nothing of his abuse, saying they were friends with him before his conviction. Speaking to The Sun, Lord Mandelson said of his birthday notes to Epstein: “I find them very embarrassing to see and to read … I just feel two things now. One, a tremendous sense of sympathy for those people, those women, who suffered as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities. And secondly, I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done. It was a matter of years after I initially met him, and I regret very much that I fell for his lies.”
In fresh revelations on Wednesday evening, leaked emails seen by The Sun saw the Labour grandee write to Epstein in June 2008: “Your friends stay with you and love you.”
While this looks like a catastrophic error of judgement from Mandelson, the question remains: did Epstein use these vast networks of privilege as a shield, giving him a sheen of prestige and legitimacy that helped him hide in plain sight for many years? Did mixing in high circles help him avoid scrutiny and avoid accountability for crimes, including soliciting prostitution from a minor and, at the time of his death, federal sex-trafficking charges?
This is a scandal that goes beyond any individual guilt by association and challenges public faith in institutions – from finance to politics and royalty. Epstein’s birthday scrapbook illustrates how closely he was embedded in so-called respectable society. These friendships, spanning continents, boardrooms, and governments, show just how small those worlds are. It is no surprise their exposure is now fuelling anti-government rhetoric about conspiracies of silence and cover-ups.
When Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, conspiracists were quick to claim it was murder, not suicide, as the post-mortem claimed. Years on, there are now huge swathes of people who believe he died because powerful people wanted him silenced before he could implicate them.
Trump has already felt the heat among his own Maga ranks, who are now calling for him to release the Epstein files in their entirety. While Trump claims his letter is fake and is suing The Wall Street Journal and its proprietor Rupert Murdoch for $10m over first suggesting its existence, for many it all smacks of deep-state conspiracy, part of the swamp Trump promised to drain.
Jeffrey Epstein may have died, six years ago, but his ghost still walks the earth. It came back to haunt Mandelson in February when he was preparing for his role as US ambassador and was asked about his past relationship with the convicted sex offender. That exchange ended with Mandelson telling a reporter from the Financial Times to “f*** off”. He has been unable to swat away this latest scandal away quite so easily.
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While Sir Keir Starmer insisted he has confidence in Lord Mandelson at PMQ’s, in light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador on Thursday morning. Few believe that this latest furore will be the last when it comes to Epstein’s friendships with people in high places. It’s a strange inversion of Banquo’s ghost. While everyone else can see it, Donald and his high-placed pals somehow can’t. And next month, the spectre of Virginia Giuffre returns with her posthumous autobiography Nobody’s Girl. Enjoy the haunting.
Nigel Cawthorne is the author of ‘Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace’